


The Orange-Colored Sun Meets Tomorrow's Wind

by taishige



Series: The Reina Arc [2]
Category: Johnny's Entertainment, TOKIO
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-23
Updated: 2009-06-23
Packaged: 2017-11-05 23:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/412376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taishige/pseuds/taishige
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taichi plays counselor in the only way he knows how.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Orange-Colored Sun Meets Tomorrow's Wind

The cell phone was in his hand.  
  
Staring up at him, innocently.  
  
 _Hey, how are you this morning? :)_  
  
He could send it. All he had to do was press the send button. One tiny little motion.  
  
Yet he was still just sitting here, huddled up in the pillows on his couch, not even changed out of the boxers and t-shirt he'd worn to bed last night.  
  
He used to send messages like this all the time. He'd always get a text back within a minute or two, something like  _Feeling better now ;)_  or  _I was just thinking about calling you_  the coinciding message.  
  
Recently he'd been lucky to get  _any_  kind of message back.  
  
The words were still staring up at him. If he sat here much longer the display on the phone would turn off.  
  
Why was his heart beating so fast?  
  
Without letting himself think about it anymore, he brought his thumb down on the button. The usual hourglass began flipping up and down, up and down. No going back now.  
  
 _Message sent._  
  
The immediate stress of the moment gone, he let out a small breath, but he was still nervousl. He kept the phone tucked between his hands, settling back into the cushions.  
  
After a minute passed, he felt his heart start to pick up again, despite him telling himself that he never answered back that fast anyway.  
  
After two minutes passed, he was clenching the phone so tight he thought it might break.  
  
By the time it had reached five minutes, he'd gone through fifty different stages of nervousness, excuses and grief, and was now clutching his knees to his chest.  
  
 _Maybe he's not even up yet. Did you ever think about that? Or maybe his phone died. Or maybe..._  
  
He put the phone down on a nearby pillow, eyes never leaving it. It sat there completely unaware of the turmoil it was causing him to go through.  
  
He needed to go do something else. He needed to forget about it for at  _least_ half an hour... ok, fifteen minutes. Then he'd come back and the front of his phone would tell him that there was a message waiting for him and everything would be fine again.  
  
He watched it for a minute longer.  
  
Still nothing.  
  
Tapping his fingers nervously on the couch cushions, he pushed himself up to his feet. He needed to get breakfast or something was what he needed to do. Coffee, maybe? Or he still had that leftover rice from dinner last night. He forced his eyes away from the phone and meandered to his kitchen, crossing and uncrossing his arms.  
  
Nothing looked good.  
  
He scanned the shelves over his sink. Glanced at the coffeepot. Thought about opening the refrigerator but deciding against it.  
  
 _\---"Holy crap, Shige, you've got shit for squat here."_  
  
He scratched his arm idly.  
  
No, nothing looked good at all.  
  
In fact, he really wasn't all that hungry.  
  
He looked back towards the couch. Towards the phone. Maybe he'd forgotten to turn the ringer on? But no, the display was still dark.  
  
It had been over ten minutes now.  
  
He dragged his feet back across the carpet and let himself fall onto the couch, face buried in the pillows. His heart felt like someone was squeezing the life out of it, his stomach queasy.  
  
 _Maybe I sent it too early. Maybe I woke him up and he's annoyed. Maybe he thinks I text too much. Maybe he hates me. Maybe I annoy him. Maybe he thinks I'm too invading. Maybe he's angry about something. Maybe—_  
  
A sharp series of raps resounded from the door.  
  
His head shot up from the pillows.  
  
It couldn't possibly be, could it?  
  
Sliding off the couch as his heart began thumping wildly in his chest, he padded his way over to the front door, bare feet sliding on the floor. His hand was on the doorknob.  
  
One quick breath. Then two.  
  
He opened it.  
  
There was a bear staring up at him. He blinked.  
  
No, not a real bear. A stuffed bear. A yellowish-gold one with a green bow tied snug around its neck.  
  
He blinked again, not moving.  
  
"Sur _prise!!_ " A familiar face appeared to the side of the bear's body.  
  
"T...Taichi!"  
  
Said person grinned widely before thrusting the bear forward into his arms. "I found it on the way over. Thought you might want something to cuddle."  
  
Joshima brought his arms up to hold it, still thoroughly confused as Taichi barged forward into his apartment.  
  
"Wha... what are you...?"  
  
Taichi was glancing about the room, not even having bothered to take his shoes off. "Mabo told me you'd been a bit down lately."  
  
Joshima shut the door, chewing on his bottom lip. He tried to give a reassuring chuckle, but it came out more bitter than he'd meant it to. "Don't know what you're talking about. What's that idiot been saying now?"  
  
Taichi turned back towards him. "Leader."  
  
"Maybe he's talking about that night I ate that bad karaage. Certainly wasn't feeling great after  _that_." Joshima walked back over to the couch and plopped down, holding the bear on his lap and idly playing with its fur.  
  
"Leader."  
  
"Mabo always gets concerned when he doesn't need to, you know?"  
  
Taichi sat down next to him, lips pressed firmly together.  
  
Joshima chewed on the inside of his cheek, wondering how much Mabo had told him.  
  
"Look, I know, ok?"  
  
Joshima forced out a laugh. "Know what?"  
  
"Everything."  
  
Well, that answered his question. He cringed, fixing his eyes forward.  
  
Taichi let out a small sigh, letting himself sit back in the cushions. He didn't say anything at first.  
  
"You always keep everything so bottled-in, Leader. We're all here to help you, you know."  
  
Joshima brought the bear into his chest, leaning his chin down on its head.  
  
"All you've gotta do is  _tell_ us."  
  
Taichi glanced over at him, though he received no reply.  
  
"Have you tried talking to  _him_?"  
  
Joshima pushed his face further into the bear's fur before jerkingly shaking his head.  
  
Taichi chewed on his lip. "You should try. It's the only way you'll figure out exactly what's going on."  
  
A pause. Then another jerky head shake.  
  
Taichi sighed. " _Lea_ der..."  
  
Once the words trailed off, the silence returned. After a few moments, Joshima reached his hand out to grab his phone off the nearby pillow, flipping it open. He barely even looked at it before snapping it closed once more.  
  
"I know it's hard... ok? But..." Taichi's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't wanna keep going like this, do you?"  He kept watching him, waiting for an answer that never came. Joshima continued to stare straight forward.  
  
Another sigh from Taichi. He began tapping his fingers on the top of his leg. "You have any food here? I'm kinda hungry."  
  
Joshima unclenched one of his arms from around the bear and pointed up towards his kitchen. Taichi pushed himself up off the couch and meandered his way over.  
  
"I probably should have bought breakfast or something on the way over... didn't even think about it." He let out a chuckle. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he started glancing up around the shelves.  
  
Dry rice... dry crackers... dried peas...  
  
...and an unopened bottle of soy sauce.  
  
Taichi nodded to himself as if seriously considering his choices.  
  
Finally, he grabbed the crackers off the shelf and began munching on them as he made his way back to the couch.  
  
"Why don't you..." he paused, raising an eyebrow. "...why don't you invite him over for dinner? Make him something." He fell back onto the couch. "It would give you guys plenty of time to talk things over."  
  
Joshima was still at first, then resolutely shook his head.  
  
" _Lea_ der, seriously. I'm pretty sure you don't actually like being like this. What do you think's gonna happen if you just let this keep going?" He brought another mouthful of crackers to his mouth.  
  
"I'd like to try and find out." This was followed by a rather sarcastic laugh.  
  
Taichi's eyes rose to the ceiling as he groaned. "I'm  _trying_ to help, ok? You're not givin' me anything here."  
  
A pause as neither of them moved. Taichi's eyes focused on the phone now residing in Joshima's lap.   
  
He grabbed it.  
  
"Well, if  _you're_ not gonna do anything, I'll just have to do it for ya, eh?" He flipped it open and began roaming through the address book.  
  
Joshima was up in an instant, reaching out to try and grab it back. "Give that... give that  _back_! _Taichi_!"  
  
Taichi simply laughed and moved further down on the couch, stretching his arms so it was out of the other's reach. He'd opened up a new message now and was starting to type something in.  
  
Joshima was half over his shoulder, coming to a stop as he watched Taichi key in the letters.  
  
" _What are you doing??_ "  
  
Taichi's tongue was poking out the side of his mouth. "What you should have done some time ago." Joshima's eyes opened wide as he watched.  
  
 _Dinner's here at 6. It'll be worth your while. ;)_  
  
"You can't send that!" Joshima's fingers were digging into the skin of Taichi's shoulders, heart beating a million times a minute.  
  
Taichi's thumb came down on the send button. "I just did."  
  
An indecipherable high-pitched noise came from Joshima's throat as he reached forward, finally grabbing the phone and watching it in horror. He mashed the cancel button down multiple times, but it was already too late.  
  
 _Message sent._  
  
His eyes were wide-open as he mouthed something noiselessly.  
  
Taichi simply laughed. "It'll be  _fiiine_... come on! Make his favorite. Get him in a good mood. Talk it over... I think it's the best thing you can do right now."  
  
Joshima slumped back into the couch. His head felt like it was pounding as he simply stared down at his phone.  
  
Taichi nuzzled up next to him, one hand coming up to rustle through his hair. "Trust me. It's fine."  
  
And then it was silent.  Joshima refused to tear his attention away from the phone.  
  
Which after only a few moments, let out an abrupt ring, surprising him so much he almost dropped it completely.  
  
The front of it lit-up with a "New message received" indicator.  
  
Joshima swallowed hard, hands shaking as he opened it up and clicked to accept. Taichi leaned in towards his shoulder to read it as well.  
  
 _i'll be there_  
  
Those three little words sent multiple waves of emotions through him, from relief, to exuberance, and then back to anxiety as his nervousness returned all over again.  
  
"W... what am I gonna do?" He turned to Taichi, eyes imploring.  
  
Taichi cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that? It's not like this is a new thing."  
  
"I... I know, but..." He turned back to the phone where the message was still staring up at him. It was... different now. For some reason. Maybe it was because before he felt like he could tell him anything. He felt loved. He felt cared for. He felt adored.  
  
Now it was like the man on the other side of the phone was an entirely different person.  
  
Someone he knew nothing about.  
  
"Just do what you normally do--be adorable." Taichi grinned, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. "He obviously couldn't resist it in the past, so it can't have lost _that_  much effect."  
  
Joshima felt a small smile form on his face for the first time that day.  
  
Taichi pushed himself up off the couch with a start. "Come on! If you go get changed I'll even help you straighten up around here and get your food goin'."  
  
Letting out a small sigh, Joshima ran a hand through his hair as he looked up. It couldn't be helped, could it? He held a hand out and Taichi pulled him to his feet.  
  
\----------------------  
  
 _"Gussan... try this."  
  
Joshima held the ladle up, turning away from the pot of kimchee soup he'd been mixing. Tatsuya cocked an eyebrow and made his way over.  
  
"Am I sure I want to?"  
  
"What's _ that _supposed to mean?"  
  
Tatsuya simply laughed, leaning forward so that he could take the side of the ladle in his mouth and slurp a bit of the broth.  
  
Joshima looked at him expectantly.  
  
"... it's good, it's good." He leaned back on his heels, obviously highly pleased.  
  
"Really? I'm so happy!" Bringing the ladle to his own mouth, Joshima tried a bit himself. His eyebrows furrowed. "You don't think it could be a hotter?"  
  
"Well, I wouldn't be opposed to it." Tatsuya gave a small laugh. "But it tastes fine the way it is."  
  
Joshima thought on this for a moment. "I'll make it hotter."  
  
"Ohh, so my opinion didn't even matter, did it?"  
  
Joshima shrugged as he began mixing more spices into the soup. "Nope. Not really." He didn't even look over at the other man.  
  
After a few moments of soup-stirring, he felt a weight on his shoulder as two arms slipped around his waist in a hug.  
  
"How come my opinions never seem to matter, eh?"  
  
Joshima struggled, trying to decide whether he should lean backwards or forward. "Tatsuya..._ cameras _...!"  
  
But Tatsuya only laughed. "They're off filming Taichi and Yasu, it's ok."  
  
"Which means they could be back at any moment!"  
  
"Well, my opinion is that that·doesn't·matter." He nuzzled the side of Joshima's neck. "Besides, it's just a hug. What's the harm in that?"  
  
This was not a hug. A "hug" was a quick five-second thing that included a few pats on the back before breaking away to go about one's daily business. No one who saw this would construe it as a "hug".  
  
Tatsuya's whole body was pressed into his backside. Joshima had stopped stirring entirely, ladle lax in his fingers.  
  
"You're off tomorrow, right?"  
  
"...yeah?"  
  
"Let's go somewhere."  
  
Joshima laughed. "Did you have somewhere in mind?"  
  
"Somewhere nice."  
  
"Well, that's real descriptive."  
  
"I'm a descriptive kinda guy."  
  
It was silent then. Tatsuya sighed happily, and Joshima felt it against his back.  Up and down.  Warm.  Reassuring.  
  
There was the sound of footsteps outside. Fast footsteps.  
  
The door burst open with a clatter. "GUSSAN!"  
  
The man in question had his hands clasped behind his head and was walking away from Joshima, whistling innocently. "Eh, Taichi?"  
  
Taichi was inside in an instant, followed closed by Yasu and three cameramen. "Yakkun... Yakkun and I... we were down by the river... look!" He held his hands out, slowly unveiling the prized object between his fingers.  
  
Tatsuya let out an excited-sounding squeal as he walked quickly to Taichi.  
  
It was a salamander.  
  
"We were so surprised!" Yasu looked quite elated himself.  
  
Tatsuya continued to make happy noises as he pet its head with his finger.  
  
Joshima just smiled to himself, biting his bottom lip as he returned to the stirring of his soup._  
  
\-------------------------  
  
"He likes sukiyaki."  
  
"You'll need some noodles then, eh? Noodles... beef, obviously... do you have eggs?"  
  
Joshima thought for a moment, pausing in the middle of the aisle. "Yeah, I think so. At least two." Taichi tossed a plastic-wrapped package of noodles into his basket.  After that, he led them rather cheerily towards the end of the refrigerated section, eyes scanning the tofu selection.  
  
Taichi had that atrocious knit cap on again, pulled down almost past his eyebrows. A "disguise", he'd said, but Joshima wondered if it really kept people from recognizing him or not. Considering how strange it looked, you'd almost think it would attract  _more_ people.  
  
"Here ya go."  
  
More clunks in the basket. Joshima looked down to see that tofu and cabbage had joined the noodles.  
  
"You're gonna make the best damn sukiyaki you've ever made, right?"  
  
Joshima raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Yes?"  
  
Taichi turned around, fist raised in a triumphant pose. "Yes!"  
  
Joshima laughed and fell in-step behind him as the two made their way a few aisles over. The aisles themselves were comfortably sparse of other customers, the grocery they'd chosen small and out of the way on purpose.  
  
"When's the last time you saw him, anyway?"  
  
Joshima blinked a few times before chewing on the inside of his cheek. "Oh... last week, maybe? Mentore filming, remember? Not that we talked a whole lot."  
  
Taichi was perusing a few cans on the shelf. "I mean, when's the last time you  _saw_ him."  
  
Joshima paused for a moment before he felt his face grow warm. "Ohh." He wasn't exactly used to talking about this with other people. "Uhh..." But it might also have been because he couldn't even remember the answer.  
  
His eyes turned towards the floor.  
  
Taichi grabbed a can and looked up towards him. "That long, huh?"  
  
Joshima laughed, scanning the shelves and finding himself highly intrigued by a jar of Kewpie mayonnaise. "No, no, it's not... you know... he's been pretty busy."  
  
The can Taichi'd picked up got dropped into his basket with a clunk.  
  
"Not  _that_ busy."  
  
There wasn't a response. Joshima's eyes stayed fixated on the shelves straight ahead of him.  
  
"Come on, we need to get meat."  
  
The two of them walked out of the aisle and over towards the glassed-in meat section. Taichi knelt down with his face pressed up against the glass.  
  
"You know, before Mabo told me, I would never have imagined it. But now that I know? It's like, I don't know how I didn't notice sooner."  
  
Joshima pursed his lips. "What do you mean?"  
  
Taichi gave a little groan as he stood back up, motioning one of the employees to come help. "The two of you. Together. You know?" He pointed downwards. "Yeah, that one please."  
  
The two of them watched as the white-clad worker gripped the beef Taichi'd pointed to.  
  
"I mean, really... thinking back... you two have always been really close." Taichi brought a hand up to scratch beneath his hat. "...he's always treated you different."  
  
Joshima didn't say anything.  
  
Wrapping up the meat, the employee handed it across the counter. Taichi grabbed it without hesitation.  
  
"Even like... uhh... oh yeah. That one time? When was it, when was it..." The two of them were walking towards the front of the store now, Taichi still holding his newly-acquired parcel. "...we were filming? Oh! Get Your Dream! That had to have been it. Yeah, ‘cuz we were on the soccer field."  
  
Taichi looked back towards Joshima as they made it to the check-out line, searching his face for any signs of recognition. Joshima, however, merely cocked his head to the side, blinking.  
  
"...you know, uh... Nagase, Mabo and I were already there, right? I remember, we were kinda like, waiting... Nagase was all ‘where'd those two go', right? ‘Cuz we'd all seen you arrive, but you hadn't come out yet."  
  
Joshima felt his face heat up for the second time.  
  
"It took you guys so long to finally get out there!"  
  
He turned away, head tucked in towards his shoulder. "...oh... uh, t-that..."  
  
Taichi took the basket from Joshima's hand and plunked it down on the counter, the lady behind it already starting to pull things out. He let out an amused laugh. "Don't tell me, don't tell me... really?"  
  
Joshima brought a hand up to scratch the top of his head awkwardly.  
  
" _Really_?"  
  
"...well, we hadn't seen each other in a while..."  
  
Taichi shook his head, still chuckling.  
  
"2,845 yen, please."  
  
Joshima stepped forward, already pulling out his wallet, but Taichi held out his hand to stop him.  
  
"I'll get it, I'll get it."  
  
"You're not even gonna-"  
  
"It's fine! I got it."  
  
Taichi pulled a wad of money out of his back pocket, finding three crumpled thousands and handing them over.  
  
"...thanks."  
  
The cashier rang them out, a small pile of change returned to his hand. Taichi grabbed the sack as the woman thanked them for their patronage, and then the two of them were on their way to the door.  
  
"You know, Leader... if there's anything  _else_ you ever need help with, you can always come to me for advice."  
  
Joshima quickened his pace slightly in order to catch up. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Taichi simply grinned. "Oh, nothing, nothing... just... you know..." He turned away, bringing a hand up to scratch the bridge of his nose.  
  
Joshima slugged him in the shoulder. "You're such a pervert."  
  
"What? What?" A look of fake shock. "I'm just looking out for your best interests, is all." But it was followed by a laugh as he swung the plastic sack around his hand. Joshima shook his head with a roll of his eyes.  
  
\--------------------------  
  
 _"Ta... Tatsuyaaaa----!"  
  
Joshima gripped the sheets between his fingers, eyes clenched shut as his legs clamped almost painfully around the body situated between them.  
  
Tatsuya had his own hands pressed deep into the mattress to keep himself up, body tensing and jaw clamped shut. It took a few moments, and then his breath came out in a rattled gasp. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead to gather beneath his chin.  
  
Joshima opened his eyes, looking up as Tatsuya's breathing calmed. He finally released the sheets, hands aching from being tense for so long.  
  
"God, Shige..."  
  
Tatsuya's chest continued to heave as he licked his lips. Pulling himself out, he tried to bring a hand up to push his hair back and ended up falling to the side, flat on his back. He stared up at the ceiling as his breathing returned to normal.  
  
Joshima turned his head towards him, raising an eyebrow as he glanced over.  
  
"That was faster than usual." He brought a hand up and tapped the other's chest with the joint of his index finger.  
  
"It was a long day."  
  
Joshima grinned and returned his gaze to the ceiling.  
  
"Yamaguchi-kun always works so hard."  
  
The back of Tatsuya's hand whacked his shoulder playfully. "Don't think I didn't hear that sarcasm."  
  
As his voice faded away, the silence returned, the only sound in the room the ceiling fan, whump-whumping its way around and around. The chilly breeze felt wonderful and cool.  
  
Joshima lifted his hand up in the air, backdropping it against the ceiling as he spread his fingers out.  
  
"...the hell are you doing?"  
  
Nothing at first, then he began bending his fingers forward one at a time.  
  
"If I bend my fingers like this, it looks like someone cut ‘em off."  
  
"...you're such an idiot."  
  
After a few moments, Tatsuya's hand was in the air as well.  
  
"Oh my god, you're right! That's so freaky!"  
  
Joshima laughed. "Isn't it?"  
  
The cord on the fan rattled slightly as it got bounced back and forth.  
  
"Look, it's a dog."  
  
Joshima had attempted to morph his hand into something that looked nothing like a dog. He made its mouth move up and down as he jostled it in the air.  
  
Tatsuya positioned his fingers in a similar form, only he brought his other hand up to join it, curling two fingers under the base of his "dog"'s mouth.  
  
"Look, it's a tanuki."  
  
Now it was Joshima who slapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Shigeeee..." Tatsuya let both his arms fall down on the other man, turning on his side. Instantly taking advantage of his position, he wrapped his arms around Joshima's chest and pulled him in against him. "Let's not go to work tomorrow..."  
  
"I'm sure that would work out wonderfully."  
  
"they wouldn't mind..." He let out a yawn before nuzzling his face into the backside of Joshima's neck.  
  
"You're not fallin' asleep on me already, are you?"  
  
"No."  
  
Joshima let out a little sigh, one of his hands coming in to hold onto the back of Tatsuya's wrist. His ears focused on the sound of the fan, rotating again and again.  
  
"Hey, Tatsuya?"  
  
"Mm?" It came out groggy, murmured into his back.  
  
Joshima grinned in spite of himself. "You'll still love me when I turn forty, right? When I get all old and gray?  
  
He felt Tatsuya's body move against him as he took a satisfied-sounding breath. "...f'course...yur m'Shige..."  
  
Joshima's grin got even wider, the tip of his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth.  
  
"I guess that means I'll have to love you too then, huh? They'll have to start calling us the ‘Over-Forty Combi'."  
  
"That sounds nice..."  
  
He could feel him breathe against his back, the in-and-out motion comforting and relaxing.  
  
"Hey, Tatsuya?"  
  
"...mm...?"  
  
Joshima bit his tongue to stifle his laughter. "I slept with Nagase last night."  
  
"...that's nice..."  
  
The laugh in the back of his throat almost came out. He closed his eyes as the huge grin spread across his face, bringing his free hand up to wipe away the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes. After a few moments, he let the air release slowly from his lungs, hand taking a position beneath the side of his head.  
  
"Go to sleep, Tatsuya."  
  
".........m'kay..."  
  
The breeze from the fan continued on 'til morning._  
  
\----------------------  
  
The food they'd bought now strewn across the kitchen counter, the two of them had begun straightening up the rest of the apartment. Taichi went to work on the living room, an old rag in his hand to wipe up the dust, while Joshima started in the bedroom.  
  
"Hey Leader, when was the last time you cleaned out the cushions of this couch?"  
  
Joshima walked to the door, poking his head around the frame. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Taichi had all the couch cushions off, scattered beside it on the floor. "I mean that it's gross!"  There were all sorts of crumbles littering its surface--lint, popcorn, small candies that couldn't be distinguished.  
  
Joshima winced. "Sorry..."  
  
Taichi only laughed. "I'm just glad to know I'm not the only who never seems to clean. You have a vacuum?"  
  
"Closet near the front door." Joshima motioned with an arm before returning to the bedroom, bending over to pick up the pile of books he'd had sitting near the door. Taking them over to his bookshelf, he shoved them into the first spots he could find. He'd had to pick up the various bits of laundry he'd had lying around first, then it had been his desk, an assortment of papers, cds, and random clutter spread across it.  
  
He heard the vacuum start up in the other room.  
  
It was already starting to look much better in here--it had been awhile since he'd cleaned. He brought a hand up to run through his hair as he surveyed the progress he'd made.  
  
Making the bed would probably help.  
  
He made his way over and began yanking off the horribly strewn sheets, figuring it would be much easier to start from scratch than try and fix them the way they were. Once the bed was bare, he pulled them out one by one and began tossing them up over the mattress.  
  
It had been well over three months--three months of lying alone in that bed and staring up at the ceiling.  
  
His heart beat a little faster knowing that tonight he wouldn't be alone. The sides of his mouth curled up into a small grin.  
  
All the sheets now on, he spread the top blanket out across it, flattening it down with the palms of his hands. He restraightened it once, twice--he stood back slightly just to make sure it looked perfect. From there, he reached down to grab his two pillows. Instead of putting them both in the middle the way he normally did, he placed them side-by-side, fluffing them up a bit. Another step back and he was admiring his work, scratching the back of his neck idly.  
  
The sound of the vacuum died. He heard it get rolled back across the floor.  
  
Looking back out across the room, he searched for more unkempt places that could use a straightening, but it seemed he was finished. He brushed his hands together, letting out a sigh of resolution.  
  
"Wuah, it's little me!"  
  
Raising his eyebrows, he made his way back to the main room.  
  
Taichi was at one of his shelves, looking through a pile of photos he'd left laying on top of his cds sometime ago.  
  
"Here I am again!"  
  
Joshima laughed, walking over to him. "I forgot about those."  
  
Taichi continued to rifle through them, much younger versions of themselves flashing by. "These are so great!" He pulled one out of the two of them, holding it up. They were sitting at a table eating ramen, Taichi with half the noodles falling out of his mouth and Joshima looking completely surprised that his picture was getting taken. "We were such dorks!"  
  
"I think Nagase took that one. He went through that phase where he kept trying to surprise people with pictures."  
  
Taichi let out a giant laugh. "I remember, I remember... wow, I used to get pissed at him somethin' awful."  
  
More rifling. He stopped on one Joshima remembered quite well. "Ahaha, Mabo, wow..." This time it was Taichi and Matsuoka, the latter leaning halfway off his old lofted bed with his hands coming up to cover Taichi's eyes from behind. "You took this, didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Back in the dorms."  
  
"Takes you back, huh?"  
  
Joshima chuckled, nodding his head.  
  
"Mabo always  _did_  like coming at me from behind."  
  
This warranted him a slap on the head.  
  
More pictures ranging from Nagase with his pants down around his ankles and a paper bag on his head, to Taichi posing like some kind of bird of prey outside a Don Quixote. After a while, he stopped on one that made Joshima's eyebrows furrow.  
  
Tatsuya'd clearly taken it, holding the camera out in front of them. His other arm was wrapped around Joshima's own shoulders, hand coming up in a peace-sign on the other side. Joshima himself had a confused, inquisitive look on his face.  
  
"That's adorable. How old is this?"  
  
Joshima chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Is it on the back?"  
  
Taichi flipped it around. "...2000...but no month..."  
  
"Probably before we went to Taiwan."  
  
Tatsuya was always doing things like that. The man seemed to get off on getting his picture taken.  
  
Taichi continued to look at it, biting his tongue in thought. "...so... were you guys... then...?"  
  
"Ah. Then?"  
  
Joshima cocked his head to the side, letting it rest on his shoulder. He knew the exact date it had officially "started". 1999. January 11th. The day after Tatsuya's 27th birthday. He'd shown up at Joshima's apartment soaking wet, extremely upset, slightly inebriated... Joshima'd actually been surprised Tatsuya'd _found_  his apartment in the state he was in, considering he'd only ever been over once before. Though that was when he still had that apartment closer to the main office.  
  
"Yeah, yeah... we were." He paused. The Tatsuya in the picture was still staring up at him, grinning. "That was when he was still pretty uptight about the whole thing... he kinda stopped caring after a while."  
  
Taichi glanced up at him.  
  
Joshima paused for a moment, then chuckled to himself.  "...not really 'kinda', I guess.  More like ‘at all'. I'm still surprised all of Japan didn't find out about us." More laughter. He was reliving something in his head.  
  
Taichi bit his lip, finally flipping through the rest of the pictures. There were only a few more. When he got to the last one, one of Matsuoka with those ridiculous sunglasses he'd bought in Hawaii, he shuffled them back together and returned them to the CDs they'd originally been sitting on.  
  
"You're done in there?"  
  
Joshima nodded.  
  
"I think I'm done in here too. Looks nice, doesn't it?"  
  
They both glanced around, admiring Taichi's handiwork. It certainly did look more welcoming. The kitchen counter was still in need of cleaning, but that would have to wait until they were done with the cooking.  
  
"You ready to start on the food then?" Taichi wiped his hands together, grinning.  
  
Another nod.  
  
"Let's hit it, then."  
  
Hit it, indeed. It didn't take long for the kitchen to look like it'd been hit by  _something_. Taichi ended up accidentally spilling some of the noodles on the floor, resulting in both of them down on their hands and knees trying to pick them up, Joshima almost crying from laughing so hard. Then Joshima was slicing the meat when he got a little too into it and ended up with a clean gash on his index finger. It took both of them a full five minutes to finally get something on it as they'd both simply stood there and watched the blood drip down his finger, laughing, Taichi asking multiple times "how the hell a TV-cook could cut himself".  
  
Needless to say, it took them considerably longer than it should have taken to finally get the meal close to finished, though it wasn't like they were short on time. By the time 5:00 rolled around, they had it simmering in the pan, all that was needed being to get it into the bowls when it got closer to six.  
  
Taichi was mopping the counter with a washrag, picking up some of the soy sauce that had splashed out earlier. "He'd  _better_ like this sukiyaki... our lives were practically at stake while we made it!"  
  
Joshima glanced over from where he was putting the leftover vegetables in the fridge. "Especially considering all the  _steak_ we had to slice up."  
  
This almost brought Taichi to tears once more. He whapped Joshima across the chest with the washrag. "You're such an idiot."  
  
A few minutes later and the kitchen was as sparkling clean as the other two rooms had been made. Taichi wrung the rag out in the sink and then let it hang over the side. "Well... that looks like about all we have to do."  
  
Joshima wiped his hands off on his pants. The butterflies had started to creep back into his stomach.  
  
"You'll just need to get changed. As becoming as those soy sauce stains are, I don't think that's  _quite_ the effect we're going for."  
  
A nervous nod. "Y...yeah..."  
  
5:15.  
  
Taichi glanced up at the clock, letting out a small sigh. "I guess that's my cue to go though. My presence would probably ruin the atmosphere, don'tcha think?" He winked, sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth.  
  
The two of them walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room. Taichi had taken his shoes off properly the second time he'd come in, so he sat down now and proceeded to put them back on. "Everything's about as ready as we can get it, right?"   
  
"Mm."  
  
A pause.  
  
"...thanks... Taichi..."  
  
Taichi groaned as he stood back up, stretching his arms above his head. "Don't mention it. You'd do the same for me, right?"  
  
Joshima grinned. "Right."  
  
Taichi glanced around for a second before letting out a small gasp. "My hat!" He reached over to the shelves where he'd stuck it earlier and pulled it down over the top of his head. "Can't forget the most _important_ thing, of course."  
  
Then the two simply looked at each other, Joshima letting out a nervous breath.  
  
"Leader..."  
  
Taichi reached forward to bring his arms around his shoulders, pulling him in tight with a few pats on the back. "Everything'll go fine, ok? Everything'll go fine."  
  
Joshima returned the hug, chin resting in the crook of Taichi's neck, but he didn't say anything.  
  
Taichi finally pulled away, giving him a cocky grin before pulling the door open behind him. "I expect to hear all about it tomorrow." And then he was out, door shutting with a clang. Joshima could hear his footsteps travel away down the hall.  
  
He was alone again.  
  
But not for long, which was the reason his stomach felt like it was doing somersaults.  
  
He bit his lip, wanting to grin like an idiot and curl up into a little ball at the same time.  
  
He should get ready.  
  
Everything had to be perfect.  
  
\--------------------------  
  
Tatsuya flipped open his phone for the third time in five minutes. It was about that time, wasn't it? He should probably go. At this rate, he was going to be late.  
  
He pushed himself out of his chair, yanking the coat up that he'd already draped over the arm of it. Pulling it over his shoulders, he slid his arms all the way through before pushing his phone into one of the pockets.  
  
As he made his way over to the door, Junon came padding out from the other room, looking up at him expectantly. He knelt down, giving her a quick head-scratch.  
  
"I'll be back tomorrow, ok? Don't burn the place down."  
  
All he got in response were a few licks to his hand and a happy tail-wag. He smiled as he got back to his feet, grabbing the backpack he'd set near the door earlier and hoisting it over his shoulder before taking the door handle and pulling it open.  
  
The woman on the other side drew her own hand back in surprise, a startled noise coming from her throat.  
  
"Ah. Tatsuya!"  
  
Tatsuya's eyes widened in confusion, hand still on the doorknob. "Reina? What are you doing here?"  
  
Her expression changed quickly, a broad smile stretching across her face. She brought her other hand up to reveal the bag she'd been carrying. "I brought dinner." And then a slight pause, her eyes wandering to his backpack. "Oh, are you going out?"  
  
"Ah, uh..." Tatsuya glanced back and forth from his bag to her. "Well, I..."  
  
"I'm sorry, I should have called first! If I had known you were-"  
  
"No, no, it's fine. Come on in."  
  
He'd be a little late, but he couldn't turn her away now, could he? It would be fine.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Really, it's fine." He opened the door the rest of the way, motioning for her to step inside.  
  
Which she did, swinging her bag happily as she did so. "I brought chaahan since I knew you liked it." She began searching down in the bag, pulling out a small cellophane pouch. "And look! I even made cookies! Plenty too, so you can take some to work tomorrow for the guys." They were in the shapes of little giraffes.  
  
Tatsuya grinned, sliding his backpack and jacket off onto the floor before leading her into the kitchen. "Aww, that's sweet."  
  
She slipped her own jacket off and set it on the chair, plunking the two containers of fried rice down on the table. They were still steaming.  
  
"It smells delicious!"  
  
She let out a laugh as she positioned them in front of two of the chairs. "I know, doesn't it? It was so hard not to eat some on the way over!"  
  
Tatsuya made his way over to the counter and grabbed his cup of chopsticks from its place near the rice-cooker and brought it over to the table to join the food. "You want something to drink?"  
  
"Oh, that'd be great! You have tea?"  
  
He checked the fridge. "As luck would have it, I do!" He pulled the pitcher off the shelf and yanked two glasses from the cabinet.  
  
Reina took her seat at the table, reaching forward to procure a set of chopsticks before opening her box of rice, the steam coming out in droves once it was free. "So where were you heading off to, anyway?"  
  
Tatsuya poured them both a glass of the tea before sitting down himself. "Ehh, I was just going out for a bit. Nothing real special."  
  
"It's kinda chilly out tonight." She brought her hands together with her chopsticks for a quick ‘itadakimasu' before pushing them down into the rice. "Even with my coat, I was a bit uncomfortable."  
  
"Really?"  
  
She nodded, bringing some rice to her mouth. "I heard that it was maybe supposed to storm later."  
  
Tatsuya furrowed his eyebrows. "Again? It just stormed last week."  
  
"I know, I'm rather sick of them myself."  
  
Tatsuya began digging into the rice like it was his last supper. "Do you have to work tomorrow?"  
  
She gave him a guilty grin. "No, actually. Got called this morning. They don't need me tomorrow."  
  
"Luuucky." He swallowed the clump of rice in his mouth. "Though I guess I shouldn't complain. I don't even have to be there until ten."  
  
Junon had followed them into the kitchen earlier and was now napping peacefully beneath Tatsuya's chair. Tatsuya extended his hand to grab his glass for a drink.  
  
"This is really good. Where'd you get it from?"  
  
"Hm? Oh, that little shack down... you know... near the station? Yamazaki's, yeah, that's it."  
  
"Ohhh, really? I'd never gotten anything from there before."  
  
6:15.  
  
Tatsuya brought the box to his mouth, using his chopsticks to shovel the last of the rice in. Near the door, his cell phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. Neither of them noticed it.  
  
"I saw on the news this morning that they're thinking of adding a new train line?"  
  
He brought the empty box back to the table. "Mm, I saw that too. Could certainly make things less busy."  
  
"I know! I just hope it doesn't affect the schedule any while they're working on it." Her own rice was gone now as well. She polished off the last of her tea. "That would be the  _last_ thing I need."  
  
"I hear ya, I hear ya."  
  
She let out a little sigh, brushing her hair back behind her ears. "Oh, here... let me take care of the glasses." Pushing herself up from her chair, she reached forward to grab both of their now empty glasses before proceeding to the sink. With a quick motion of her hand, she took the soap container and began washing them beneath the water.  
  
After a few moments, there was the sound of a chair being pushed back, and soon Tatsuya's arms were around her waist.  
  
"You know how I like it when you're all domestic."  
  
She felt a smile spread across her face as she let herself lean back. "Oh, is that the only way you like me?"  
  
"Of course. Gotta have someone to do the dishes, don't I?" He bit his lip to hold in the laughter, letting his face come down to nestle in the crook of her neck.  
  
"Very funny, mister. We'll see if you're saying that same thing la-"  
  
He cut her off with his mouth, one of his hands having crept around to turn her face towards his. She instinctively leaned in, her eyes slowly closing. The two glasses were completely forgotten.  
  
Tatsuya used his hands to maneuver her until they were facing each other, pushing her back into the side of the counter. His tongue had already found its way between her lips as he moved his hands along the sides of her arms.  
  
She smirked slightly through the kiss. "You're... quick tonight..."  
  
"It was a long day."  
  
His hands were back on her waist, pulling her in tighter as he deepened the kiss. He could taste the rice that both of them had just finished eating.  
  
It wasn't until he'd started undoing the buttons on her blouse that she stopped him, bringing her hands up to grab his wrists. "Bedroom, Tatsuya."  
  
And he obeyed, albeit reluctantly. She took this opportunity to push him back herself, fingers clenched into the front of his shirt. The two made their way bumbling back into the hallway and towards the bedroom door, Reina concentrating on the buttons of his shirt while he worked his own fingers at hers.  
  
In the bedroom, Reina had the better footing once they reached the bed, enabling her to push him down, yanking his shirt all the way off as she did so. Climbing across on her knees, she was down again, letting her hands slide over his chest as he began attempting to pull her blouse off, fingers already struggling with the straps of her bra.  
  
The phone rang.  
  
It echoed almost forebodingly through the house.  
  
Tatsuya's eyebrows furrowed, though he didn't break away. Not many people called his home phone.  
  
It took him a few moments, then he started to pull himself back off the bed. Reina, however, yanked him back on, hands working on the clasp of his pants.  
  
"Let the machine get it."  
  
He seemed uncertain for another moment, then gave in, wrapping his arms around her back so he could completely undo her bra. It came off without a hitch.  
  
The phone continued to ring.  
  
By the time the familiar click of the answering machine echoed from the hall, both of them had gotten their clothes off, Tatsuya having found his way back on top.  
  
 _["Tatsuya...? It's Sh-...it's Joshima..."]_

Tatsuya only half-heard it.

Reina gave a slight gasp beneath him as her fingers imbedded themselves in the sheets.

_["...it's after 6:30 now... 6:38, actually... I suppose you got busy..."]_

Tatsuya's breath was turning strained, the earlier chill in the room completely gone.

_["...but that's ok...I...I don't know... I'm not even sure why I'm leaving this..."]_

Reina brought her arms up to circle over the back of his neck, clenching her eyes shut.

"Tatsuya..."

Her face seemed to be asking, begging, and Tatsuya was all too ready to fulfill that request.

_["...I suppose I just wanted to say that... that... you've has always been there for me... you've always... looked out for me when I needed it the most..."]_

There was a catch in his voice, one that couldn't be mistaken for the machine this time.

A drop of sweat rolled down Tatsuya's forehead to his chin, swaying precariously before falling into the sheets below and soaking in.

_["...I always enjoy being with you... I hope that, that I'm not a bother...to you..."]_

He was almost there. He could feel it, like a tiny match that burned brighter and brighter. Reina was giving off tiny moans now, whispering his name.

_["...I guess I... wanted you to know that...I... I... Tatsuya, I---"]_

And then it came at him like a bright light, the words from the answering machine dissolved into nothingness as he clenched his eyes shut, hands digging into the mattress. He pushed forward with everything he had. Reina's voice rose into a high-pitched wail, her hands digging almost painfully into the skin of his back.

It was over. His breath came out ragged and shaky, muscles losing their rigid tension. Uncurling herself from him, Reina let herself lie down flat on the bed as she allowed herself to recover. Her arms splayed lazily off to her sides.

Tatsuya's outside consciousness finally returning to him, his ears perked up at the sound of the answering machine.

_["...I'm sorry."]_

And then it clicked off, the entire house going silent. All that could be heard was the sound of their ragged breath.

\------------------

Taichi repositioned his bag on his shoulder as he hoisted the door to the dressing room open, leisurely walking inside. He wasn't late this morning--he was actually surprised. He'd be glad to  _not_  be reprimanded again, as it never did much for his mood.

Joshima was the only one inside when he entered, so he slung his jacket and bag off on the chair by the door and made his way over. He was sitting at the table in the middle, coffee travel mug in his hand as he stared ahead of him vacantly.

"Leeeader..."

Joshima glanced up. He was wearing his glasses this morning for some reason. Taichi couldn't miss the red tinge around his eyes as their gazes met.

"Eh, what's wrong?"

Joshima stared blankly. "Hm?"

"Your eyes, you look like you've been--"

"Ah!" Joshima brought his hands up to rub at them under his glasses. "Allergies. Really flared up this morning."

"Mm, mm, gotcha." Taichi plunked himself down at the table, his expression transforming into a grin. "...so how'd it go, huh?"

Joshima bit his lip, bringing the mug to his mouth for another sip. After a moment, he forced the sides of his mouth up into a smile, eyes focused on the middle of Taichi's face.

"Great. It went great."

Taichi lit up. "Really? That's awesome!" He reached across the table to rustle his hand unceremoniously through the other's hair. "See? I told you everything would be fine." As he sat back down, he glanced around. "Did you bring that coffee yourself?"

Joshima blinked. "Yeah..." He readjusted his glasses. "They have some out in the foyer though, if that's what you're asking."

This brought a laugh from the other man. "That... is  _exactly_  what I was asking." He pushed himself out of the chair and began making his way back to the door. "Be back in a sec."

Joshima watched him go, waiting until the door had completely shut behind him before returning his gaze to the table. He took another sip from his coffee before reaching a hand across the table to the bag of cookies sitting there. He took one of the giraffes out, rotating it in his fingers half-heartedly before bringing it to his mouth.


End file.
